Superdads

How Fathers Balance Work and Family in the 21st Century

Gayle Kaufman

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780814749166
• eBook ISBN: 9780814785805
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

“Look! There in the playground -- with the stroller and diaper bag! It's Superdad! Yes, it's Superdad—the most involved fathers in American history. And with this careful, compassionate and also critical group portrait, Gayle Kaufman has finally told their story. If you think men aren't changing—or if you think they somehow get neutered if they are changing—you need to read this book.”—Michael Kimmel, author of Guyland


In an age when fathers are spending more time with their children than at any other point in the past, men are also facing unprecedented levels of work-family conflict. How do fathers balance their two most important roles—that of father and that of worker? In Superdads, Gayle Kaufman captures the real voices of fathers themselves as they talk about their struggles with balancing work and family life.

Through in-depth interviews with a diverse group of men, Kaufman introduces the concept of “superdads”, a group of fathers who stand out by making significant changes to their work lives in order to accommodate their families. They are nothing like their fathers, “old dads” who focus on their traditional role as breadwinner, or even some of their peers, so-called “new dads” who work around the increasing demands of their paternal roles without really bucking the system. In taking their family life in a completely new direction, these superdads challenge the way we think about long-held assumptions about men’s role in the family unit.

Thought-provoking and heartfelt, Superdads provides an overview of an emerging trend in fatherhood and the policy solutions that may help support its growth, pointing the way toward a future society with a more feasible approach to the work-family divide.

INDEX

Aletraris, L., 56–57

Arendell, T., 223, 225

Attitudes: toward career, 114–116

toward daycare, 89–90

toward gender roles, 8–9, 198, 207

and single parents, 183

toward work and family, 10, 20, 24–31, 196

Barnett, R. C., 106–107

Beck, U., 10

Becker, G., 78, 95

Belkin, L., 199

Bernard, J., 201

Bernstein, G., 9

Beutell, N., 54–55

Bianchi, S., 65

Blair-Loy, M., 13

Brayfield, A., 53

Breadwinner, 2, 5, 207

as men’s role, 10, 13–14, 21, 141, 173, 204

and new dads, 106, 140

and old dads, 79, 82, 93, 104, 141, 197, 208

pressures of, 95–97

and type of dad, 6–7

wife as, 155–156

Buchanan, A., 205

Career: advancement, 3, 4, 97–99, 101, 104, 120, 161, 180, 217

changing, 103–104, 117–118, 142, 147–150, 170–171, 173–178

changing priorities, 25–28, 30–31

and family leave, 33, 38, 41–42, 47–48

limiting, 6, 107, 114–116, 139, 179–180, 189–192, 200

wife’s career, 52, 92–93, 102–103, 121, 128–133, 199, 202

Charmaz, K., 227–228

Child care: availability and arrangements, 5, 9, 165–166

consequences of unequal, 203–204

fathers’ time or proportion of, 15, 18, 25, 53, 70, 167, 226

and maternal gatekeeping, 95, 209–210

reliance on wives, 89

shared, 121–122, 124, 142, 164–165, 196, 202–203, 220

and shift work, 166–167

as work, 193–194

Child development, 11–12, 135, 204–206

Cho...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• One Introduction: More Dads at the Bus Stop
• Two Becoming a Father
• Three Work-Family Dilemmas
• Four “Old” Dads
• Five “New” Dads and Partial Solutions
• Six Superdads
• Seven Single Superdads
• Eight Conclusion
• Appendix: Studying Fathers
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Author